Final 4x4 Finish helps Althoff Catholic win IHSA Class 1A Girls State Championship

Althoff edges Winnebago by 1 point for team title; Williams wins 3 individual state titles

By Michael Newman

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Charleston, Ill – It was all about surviving the sweltering temperatures on the floor of O’Brien Field and doing everything for the team that pushed Althoff Catholic over the top to win their first Girls 1A State Team Championship Thursday evening. The Crusaders scored 50 points to claim the state title one point ahead of second-place Winnebago who scored 49 points. Salt Fork scored 47.6 points to finish third.

RESULTS | VIDEOS

The meet came down to the 4x400m Relay to decide this team championship. DuQuoin pulled away in the final leg as Olivia Phillips crossed the line to claim the event title. Winnebago finished second in that race. With that scenario, all Althoff had to do was finish seventh or better in the event. They accomplished that task.

Nariah Parks was one of the athletes that competed in four events to help her team. The senior finished the day earning four all-state honors placing fifth in the 100 Meter Dash, third in the 400 Meter Dash, and fourth in the 200 Meter Dash along with running the anchor leg of the 4x400m Relay. Her teammate Alaina Lester was also keeping herself busy in this meet. She competed in the 4x200m Relay and the Long Jump. The freshman also finished second in the 100 Meter Dash and then finished the meet as their team’s third runner in the 4x4.

The one runner for Althoff Catholic that was the difference maker in this meet was Eris Nelson who had unexpected second place finishes in both the 3200 Meter Run and the 1600 Meter Run. The sophomore missed most of the season as she explained with iron deficiency problems that forced her to the sidelines. Nelson had only raced the final four weeks of the season. She saved her best for last.

She was the ninth seed in the 3200 Meter Run. She led most of the race under the most severe conditions with temperatures near 90 degrees. Nelson held on for second in that race with a personal best of 11:26.53. She also was entered in the 800 Meter Run where she finished fifth in her section, 14th overall. Nelson waited for the final 100-meters to make her move in the 1600 Meter Run moving out of the five-runner pack to finish second (5:23.29) bettering her sectional time by one second.

“This is my first state meet. Everything feels so surreal,” Nelson said after her 1600. “It still hasn’t set in that I am here but is crazy. It obviously worked out.”

The one athlete that stepped into the spotlight in this meet was Tuscola’s Alyssa Williams who met pre-meet expectations to win three state titles. Williams jumped 18’ 3.25 to win the Long Jump, ran a personal best of 12.10 to win the 100 Meter Dash, and completed her triple by running 25.32 to win the 200 Meter Dash.

“This is crazy. I still can’t believe that this has happened,” Williams said in disbelief. “This was my last race of my junior year. I just wanted to make the best of it since I did not have sophomore season.”

Ashleigh Hamilton of St. Joseph-Ogden did not win a state championship on Thursday in this meet. She did leave Charleston earning all-state medals in four events.

The IHSA State Meet did not have preliminary days like it has in the past. It was anyone who ran the fastest time in their event regardless of the section would be the state champion. Hamilton, due to sectional performances, was placed in the third of four sections in two of her events. The senior won her section of the 100 Meter Dash in 12.97. She placed sixth overall. Hamilton ran a great race in the 400 Meter Dash with a personal best of 58.00. She won her final race in winning her section of the 200 Meter Dash (25.80) which netted her a third-place finish overall. She won 12 All-State medals in her high school career.

Meet Highlights – Distance Events

It was a war of attrition in the 3200 Meter Run where tactics played a huge part in determining a state champion. Nelson led the first 1600 in 5:40 with Julia Wolke of Christian Liberty Academy, Mattie Kindelsperger of Sherrard, Kate Ahmari of Urbana University, and Carly Manchester of IC Catholic Prep close behind in a pack. The pack slowly grew smaller with each lap passed. Kindelsperger pulled away in the 400-meters claiming the state title in a personal best of 11:19.93. Nelson (11:26.53), and Wolke (11:29.36) followed.

Maleigha Huston of Bushnell Prairie City wanted to take the pace out fast in the 800 Meter Run. She just could not believe that ran the first 400-meters in a sizzling 63.28. The rest of the pack was at 67 seconds. The fast first lap paid a toll of Huston especially during the final 100 meters of the race. At the same time, it had zapped some of the energy out of the rest of the pack. Olivia Phillips of DuQuoin got close to Huston in the end ran out of real estate. Huston was crowned state champion at 2:18.46 with Phillips second in 2:20.30. Sophia Scheider of Elgin St. Edward finished third (2:23.02).

The choice to just run the 1600 Meter Run was the best move that Natalia Martino of Winnebago made before her sectional race. “We looked at the possible meet schedule and saw what time the 3200 Meter Run was,” Martino said. “It was the best decision especially with the weather just to run one race.” That decision paid off with a state championship. The senior, heading to Portland State this fall, pulled away from the pack just before 800-meters into the race, and destroyed the rest of the pack in winning in 5:05.45. Her margin of victory was 18 seconds ahead of Nelson (5:23.29). Chloe Proffitt of Wilmington had a huge race running 5:24.79 to finish third. Manchester, in her third distance race of the day, win her second all-state honor by finishing fourth (5:27.22) just ahead of Winnebago’s Kaylee Woolery (5:27.52).

Meet Highlights – Relays

Winnebago took hold of the 4x800m Relay with 2:27.6 leg by Katherine Erb, a 2:25.3 leg from Marissa Roggensack, and a 2:29.7 third leg from Renee Rittmeyer. A 2:26.0 third leg from Jacqueline Crain moved DuQuoin closer to Bago when the final exchanges were made. Olivia Phillips ran a great 2:20.6 anchor, the fastest split of the relay, to close the gap. Phillips tried to pass Grace Erb in the final lap, but the Winnebago runner refused. Erb’s anchor was 2:25.1 as they ran 9:47.54 to hold off DuQuoin (9:48.32) for the state title. Knoxville led the next pack running 10:17.40 to finish third.

If anyone had a chip on their shoulders heading into this meet, it was Nashville who had run some fast times during the season in the 4x100m Relay and 4x200m Relay but did not have one of the top sectional times entering Thursday’s races. There was no stopping the quartet of Shelby Thorson, Karmen Reynolds, Talanie Kozuszek, and Halle Rueter in both relays. Nashville started by breaking their own school record running 49.87 for the win followed by Maroa-Forsyth (50.79) and Rockford Christian (50.83). Smooth baton passes got Nashville the win in the 4x200m Relay with another school record of 1:45.42. It was the same order as in the 4x1 with Maroa-Forsyth (1:48.02) and Rockford Christian (1:48.15) following. Winnebago ran 1:49.33 to finish fourth.

Olivia Phillips took the baton and the lead in the final leg of the 4x400m Relay for Duquoin. They went on to win in 4:05.07 with Phillips running a 59.8 anchor leg. Winnebago (4:08.60) and Newton (4:12.61) finished second and third.

Meet Highlights – Sprints / Hurdles

Alyssa Williams was the star of both sprint races. She capped her junior season running 12.10 to win the 100 Meter Dash pulling away from Alaina Lester (12.26) and Tyrah Taylor of Hope Academy. It was Williams and Taylor at the end of the final section of the 200 Meter Dash. Williams won her third race of the day (25.32) ahead of Taylor (25.44). Hamilton won the third section and finished third overall (25.80).

The final section of the 400 Meter Dash turned out to be one of most exciting finishes of the 1A meet. Hamilton and Parks were battling it out for the win down the final 20 meters of the race. Megan Becker caught Hamilton with the lean at the finish. Becker’s time was 57.93 was just seven hundredth of a second ahead of Hamilton (58.00). Parks, the defending 1A champion in the event, finished third (58.12). Grace Jessup of Salt Fork got out of the blocks slowly. She made up for that in the five hurdles as she took the title (14.81) just ahead of Grace Nelson of Altamont (14.86) and Tremont’s Cambria Geyer (14.91). Nelson, only a freshman, came back to run the fastest time in the state in the 300m Hurdles (44.41) ahead of Katie Moore of Red Hill (45.78) and Katie Cox of Pittsfield (46.56).

Meet Highlights – Field Events

The lonest event of the day was not the 3200 Meter Run but the Pole Vault which took close to six hours to complete. Windsor Roberts of Tri-Valley defended her 1A title with a win clearing 3.73m (12-2.75) on her first attempt. Isabelle Hemmen of Teutopolis and Brynlee Keeran of Salt Fork finished second and third.

Kiara Wesseh of Newark and Lindley Johnston of Wethersfield both cleared 5-4.25 in the High Jump. Johnston on the state championship on fewer misses. Johnston also was all-state in the 400 Meter Dash finishing eighth.

Alyssa Williams’ first state title came in the Long Jump with a 18-3.25 best. Atleigh Hamilton had a 17-10.25 effort on her furth and final jump to finish second. Jade Aber of Bureau Valley jumped 36-6.25 to win the Triple Jump ahead of Keeran (36-1.75) and Cali Minkle of Dakota (35-6).

Breena Noon of Oregon took the lead in the first round of the Shot Put and never gave it back. Her third-round mark of 40-4.25 was her best giving her the state title. Julia Hahn of Libertyville (39-8) and Karlie Krogman of Milledgeville (38-3.25) finished second and third.

Olivia Campbell of Pittsfield fouled in three of her four throws in the Discus. Her first round throw of 137-0 was more than enough to win the event after finishing fourth in the Shot Put. Charlotte Frere of Sherrard had a 25-9 second-round throw to finish second. Maddie Boley of Beecher finished third (125-6).